grammar girl

We aren’t ones for keeping things around that don’t work anymore.  We are ruthless when it comes to cleaning out the closet.  And you should see the heap of goods we will be selling next month in our garage sale thanks to our recent move and remodel.  (Don’t worry you’ll get an invite!) Why keep something around unless it’s truly useful to you? Of course, the term “useful” can have many meanings.  Something can be functionally useful, utilitarian.  But things can be useful in an emotional way, too.  An object can recall happy memories of people and places and the aesthetic beauty of an object can literally change a mood from bad to good.  Wouldn’t you agree?

We found this old clock a while ago, put it in the shop and waited to see what would happen.  We waited to see if anyone else could love it for its emotional utility rather than its functional one.  Usually when something is broken, it ends up in our sale bin, but not this particular piece.  We bought it knowing it was broken and loved it anyway.  We loved its exposed face and its black and white and silvery-ness.  We loved that you could set the time and it would never change.  You’ll notice this one is set to 11:01 and the alarm hand is set to 6.  In fact, every clock we sell, working or not, is set to that very same time.  That’s because November 1, 2006 was our opening day.  We can look at the clock and be reminded of that first day and think about how far we’ve come since then. It’s a good (and 100% emotional) feeling.

That, friends, is how we get attached to “broken” clocks, among other “useless” things.   Leave a comment here or on our facebook page about something “useless” you developed an emotional attachment to and you might win a $25 gift certificate.  We’ll contact the winner next Wednesday, August 25th.

e are so pleased that summer has finally arrived in Portland – even though it feels like it’s almost over.  We are pleased that the sun is out everyday – even though it doesn’t come out until noon.  We are pleased to be wearing flip-flops – even though we pair them with a sweater.  We are attempting to remain positive about the sunshine season despite the fact that it has been practically non-existent.  After all, if the summer was doing what it was supposed to be doing (luring us outside), we would be less happy stuck inside fixing up our new house every weekend.  And if the summer was doing what it was supposed to be doing (being all hot and sticky), you would be less likely to come into the shop and see our new favorite find:

Even on the grayest of summer mornings, we find a glimpse at one of these little landscapes makes the day BRIGHT!  They are made locally by Bright Design Lab, a clever little collective who not only create these tiny terrariums but design and build all kinds of wonderful things and spaces.  We get new terrariums in every week and the images above are just a small example of what you might find at the shop when you come in for your next visit.

Many posts ago we admitted our love for all things Twilight.  And since the third Twilight movie is coming out in ONE WEEK it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that we’ve been thinking a lot about it lately.  It has been causing all kinds of distractions and daydreams.  For example, last week when we should have been doing some dusting or tagging or customer servicing, we just sat around thinking about how we REALLY want them to shoot the next two movies in Portland. That daydream led to yet another daydream about what it would be like if Kristen Stewart (yes, we are totally team Bella) came to the shop.  We imagined ourselves throwing up a little in excitement and then trying to act nonchalant while simultaneously telling her how we totally relate to her because everyone thought we were really snotty when we were growing up, too. But in fact, we were just kind of shy and also didn’t want to hang around people we didn’t really like just to “fit in”.  Phew!  That was a long daydream.

We know that all this Twilight/Kristen Stewart talk may cause many of you to judge us in a negative way but we don’t really mind.  We all have our biases. (Ours are against people who wear overalls while not employed on a farm and those who use the word “re-doubling”). We proudly admit that we are total suckers for all that teen angst, two worlds collide, true love mumbo-jumbo.  And for your information, Twilight was not the first or last story to have our hearts all a-flutter.  Other awkwardly lovely, teeny, star-crossed stories we’ve gone gaga over include:

Romeo and Juliet – (zeffirelli’s version is a classic)
My So Called Life – (in bed for days when they canceled this)
Dirty Dancing – (on a constant loop in the VCR during the summer of ’88)
My Life as Liz – (a recent single season goodie that had us glued to the screen)

Anyway…

Didn’t someone say something about a giveaway?

In honor of our crush on Kristen Stewart, the movie release of Twilight Saga: Eclipse and to all good things that create daydreams, we would like to give our blog visitors a chance to win a $20 gift certificate.  (Out-of-town entries will have the option to receive a surprise daydream-inspired gift.)  You can leave a comment here or head over to our Facebook page and tell us about the thing that you’ve been daydreaming about lately.  Now that you know all of our heart’s deepest secrets – it’s time for you to dish a few of your own.  You have until July 1st.

p.s. If you can get us a personal, face-to-face interview with Kristen Stewart, you automatically win the giveaway.  Plus a $500 gift certificate.  That is not a joke.

or those of you who haven’t been in the shop recently, we thought a mini tour of some mini things might be nice.  While most of us aren’t looking for a living room couch and even fewer of us are in the market to buy an eggplant colored fridge, we can usually all treat ourselves (or our friends) to some of these little goodies:

For the Word Nerd or Font Freak:
letter tiles, calligraphy pens,
a book that teaches us the long lost art of letter writing
and a glass tray with a swirly alphabet

For the Simple Scientist:
a glass cloche, porcelain petals, vintage pyrex-turned-vase,
and a love-filled test tube on a sweet silver tray

For the Wedding Guest or Happy Housewarmer:
a lustreware vase and pitcher, decorative spindles
and cards for corresponding

e met Anna Joyce this past Christmas at a local holiday show where she was wearing a pair of earrings from our shop that she had swiped from friend.  We liked her right away.  Once we had decided to do our big store remodel we knew she would be a perfect addition to the new space and that her pieces would bring a touch of spring into the shop despite the drizzly clouds outside.

As you can see, Anna makes some beautiful pillows ($24-$86).  But chances are, if you throw one on your couch, your bed is gonna be seriously jealous.  Luckily, the dining area and kitchen can even get in on the action, because she also makes table runners ($48) and aprons ($36).  Stay tuned, because we are working with Anna on some exclusive furniture collaborations for the shop.  If it all works out – things are about to get ridiculously stylish around here!